


not like the infected

by SirenDreams



Series: Tumblr Prompt Games [1]
Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Hinted Assault, OC is an adult, One who has been lucky enough to not have to kill anyone who wasn’t one of the infected, Rated M for safety purposes, as there is mention of a dead body and implied violence, blood mention, implied established relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:53:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24193873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirenDreams/pseuds/SirenDreams
Summary: One of Joel’s companions goes missing and he finds them a little worse for wear as they face the realities of the world they inhabit. [OC/Joel; drabble]
Relationships: Joel (The Last of Us)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Tumblr Prompt Games [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1746130
Kudos: 13





	not like the infected

**Author's Note:**

> For a dialogue prompt game on tumblr. Category: Hurt/Comfort. Prompt: “Don’t touch me, I’m sick”.

“Madelyn?”

The floor creaks beneath Joel’s weight as he steps into the dim and dusty attic, illuminated solely by the small ray of light streaming in through a broken window on the far right. He’s certain she’s here. She has to be⏤ he’d heard the scream, seen the flash of platinum through the window. If she wasn’t here, were else would she be?

“Madelyn?” He calls, a gruff whisper echoing off the thick wooden boards. “Damn it, where the hell are you?”

He takes another step, feels something squish beneath his feet⏤ the tell-tale squelch an indication he stepped on something best left unseen. He grimaces and moves forward, intent on his goal as he keeps going though his face crinkles in distaste at the sudden suffocating stench of copper. The scent of blood⏤ a lot of it given the strength of the smell. Then another creak as a board gives way beneath him and he stumbles back, just barely able to hear the sudden intake of breath coupled with a choked sob. He waits for the dust to clear, then steps over the hole he made and trips over something large. He swears as he hits the boards with a loud thud, sending a small cloud of dust flying through the air and spots the object of his searching huddled in the corner… covered in blood.

“Shit, Madelyn are you alright?” Joel scrambles up to a kneeling position, reaching out to grab her and attempting to shush her in a soothing manner when she tries to pull away from his grip. “Hold still, what happened to you?”

“Don’t touch me!” She croaks, voice hoarse as she tries to pry her arms free from his grip. “god, Joel, _don’t look at me… I’m sick_!”

“What are you talking about?” He says, pulling her into the light to study her closely. “Are you hurt? Did you get attacked by one of the infected?” He quickly checks her hands and exposed arms, then her face, only half-listening as she croaks out obscenities.

“No, I’m not infected. I’m just… I’m a sick person! I killed that man!”

Joel turns to study the lump on the floor⏤ the body of a rather muscular man, now deceased and in a pool of his own blood. He turns back to Madelyn, seeing her drenched in blood, the tear in her shirt and the rapidly blooming bruises on her face and neck. All coupled with a wicked looking knife he’d never seen before laying near the body. All painting a disturbing picture that pointed to a thought that made his blood boil.

“Madelyn, Madelyn! Look at me.” He takes her face in his hands, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Did that man attack you? Did he try to **hurt** you?”

“Yes.” Her voice is heavy with further implication and Joel resists the urge to kick the deceased man for good measure. “It was⏤”

“A trap.” He finishes, thinking back on the perfectly placed items he’d passed all near shadowed areas where someone could lurk. Thinks briefy on the padlocked basement door and the scratch marks going towards it on the floor. “The entire house was set up as a lure.”

“I killed him.” Madelyn breathes out, lips trembling as much as her hands. “This isn’t… it’s not like the infected.”

“Lyn,” Joel says sternly, cupping the back of her head as he wraps an arm around her in an embrace. “he tried to kill you. You did what you had to do to survive. C’mon, let’s get out of here and get back to Ellie.”


End file.
